Shadows in Winter

Jalmar remembered the time that followed. He usually wished he didn't. It had been harrowing in the extreme and most of the exiles had not survived. He made a fist on front of him, the Dust-tattoos shifting on his skin. Even in the night-time darkness of the Vaulter warehouse they were plainly visible, a dash of golden radiance in the darkness. But then Jalmar knew very well they would be. The tattoos were curious. Infused with the mysterious Dust-substance, they were only fully visible to other Forgotten or when he desired them to be. And right now, he did no desire to be seen. This wasn't his first rodeo, as his cover-persona would say. He leaned around the corner slowly and peered down the corridor. The single corridor led from one end of the warehouse to the other, with several doorways branching off on the left. The floor was solid and unadorned stonework, the door-frames made with local timber and the walls plaster. Darkened lanterns hung from the wall on the right. Titanium storm-lanterns. Normally they would burn through any wind or weather until their fuel was exhausted. Kiira, sitting on the other side of the doorway with her hood up well past her hawkish nose, had seen to that little obstacle. Signalling to his companions that the coast was clear, Jalmar slipped around the corner and inside the corridor. The shuffling of muffled feet behind him were barely audible even to his sharpened senses. Matleena went in after him and Kiira. The larger man was the noisiest of the bunch, though still as quiet as a mouse. A Dust-alloy short-sword at his hip was muffled with black cloth to mask the gleam and the sound. Kaleva was last in and when they were all inside, she closed the door behind them. The door cut off what little light came from the street and cast the storage-room in darkness. Jalmar had to wait a moment for his sight to adjust. Soon enough the grey stone underfoot came back into view. As soon as he could easily see the doorway into the second storeroom he moved forward cautiously. There were no windows through which they could be seen from the streets, but he kept his posture low. He paused briefly at the threshold of the door, looking through the thin opening. The interior was, if anything, even darker than the corridor they were in. Jalmar could just about make out the rows of shelves heavy with sacks. Those sacks should be full of grain, the surplus of ever-shorter summers. Supplies for ever-longer winters. These supplies were their target. Jalmar gingerly poked at the wicker-cage secured to his belt. He could tell that the creature within was still in the cage from how it weighed on his hip, but he was still nervous that the rat-like creature had chewed through his leather belt. Each of his fellow Forgotten carried a similar cage, each with one of the beasts inside. Any more than one of them in such a small space and the stronger would devour the other. As he examined the cage, he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. Kaleva was ready behind him. Jalmar quickly strode in and to the right. Kaleva passed on his left before he had even turned the corner, her knife out and cutting at the sacks. The precious grain soon littered the floor as the two Forgotten set about their work. Jalmar cautiously climbed a few of the shelves to open the sacks that were stored closer to the flat ceiling. He was hanging by a hand from one such shelf when he heard an owl-call. Kaleva had finished. He slashed at one of the topmost sacks then dropped adroitly to the floor, legs bending just-so to absorb the fall. Cupping his hands together he called back. They did not have to wait long before similar calls could be heard from the other room.

The little beasts were a discovery from their new homeland. A body like a large rat, a ferocious appetite and a unique ability to metabolise food near-instantly. They will eat till nothing was left, growing meters in minutes, then go in search for more. Judging by the amount of grain stored here, each of the beasts would reach the size of cave bears before moving on. Jalmar and Kaleva each set their cages on the floor and opened them, and the furry shapes sped out to disappear amongst the shelves. He didn't care to wait around to watch the critters go about their greedy work, so he carefully put the cage in his belt again and shuffled out to the corridor. Kaleva and the others were waiting for him in the hallway, an empty wicker cage in their belts. He signalled to Kiira that they had completed their half. With one last look over the group Kiira turned about and headed for the door opposite the one they had entered but 5 minutes ago.

Kiira stopped at the side of the door and slowly opened it just enough to peer through. The group quietened their breathing as they waited for Kiira. Kiira motioned behind her slowly and deliberately, 1 finger extended. 1 sentry in their way. A few more hand signals flashed in quick succession. Lantern. Armed. Wait for passing.

So, the crew waited. A long moment passed. Kiira was still signalling to wait. From the rooms behind them they heard a squeal of pain as two of the glutton-beasts were probably fighting over some sack of food. Making noise. Jalmar had an idea. Behind them the glutton-beasts were becoming increasingly noisy as they grew, consuming months of food in minutes. The scraping of wood-on-stone was clearly audible in the dark corridor. He leaned forward and tapped Kiira on the shoulder, whispering in her ear. "Kiira, the racket from those beasts is going to draw attention sooner rather than later. We can't afford hanging around."

There was a throaty grunt from the storeroom behind them. Kiira tensed under Jalmar's hand. "So, what do you propose, Butcher?"

"Let me at the crack, I'll handle it." Jalmar replied.

Kiira's expression did not seem cooperative but she shuffled back anyway, allowing Jalmar to peer out of the door. A single person in the uniform of the city watch was standing alone in the little alleyway that ran alongside the small warehouse they were in. In one hand the sentry held a lit lantern of a similar make to the ones hanging inside the warehouse. A crossbow and a small quiver of bolts hang from the person's belt. The sentry turned towards the warehouse they were in and Jalmar saw a pair of steel-blue eyes and a beard sticking out over the chainmail vest of the uniform. A man, then. Jalmar retreated a small distance from the crack of the door, not wanting his eyes to be seen. The eyes of the Forgotten carried a hue like their gold Dust-tattoos. The man seemed interested in the odd noises from the warehouse but did not otherwise seem to have spotted a pair of Dust-glow eyes peering out at him. Jalmar slowed his breathing as much as he dared and slowly and slipped a dagger from its sheath. The man raised the lantern towards the door and took a couple of long strides in their direction. Behind Jalmar the other Forgotten cautiously shuffled backwards while Jalmar retreated a step further from the crack and took hold of the door handle. The moment Jalmar felt the door move, he ripped the door open and reached forwards quick as a viper to catch the man's arm. Caught by surprise, the watchman couldn't keep his balance when Jalmar pulled him forwards onto his readied blade and onto the floor. Nothing but a wet gurgle escaped the man as his windpipe was immediately severed and the cobbled floor was stained with his blood. In but a moment the man had stopped moving.

"Damn it Bogovil, we were to avoid killing if we were able. We could have avoided a single sleep-deprived sentry," Kiira spat at him, then kicked the cooling body on the floor, "Now they'll wonder how he died."

Jalmar looked at her with a grin from ear to ear. "Ah, but how long can the glutton-beasts resist such a tasty morsel within such easy reach? There'll be little left for the guards to ponder over, let alone suspect that he did not just stumble upon 4 hungry beasts the size of bears."

Kiira still looked cross, but their companions seemed more amused.

"No matter," Kiira said in an irritated tone, "We can't bring him back from the dead and we cannot bring him with us either. If this job is compromised by a single dead guard then the punishment is coming out of your pocket, Bogovil."

Jalmar smiled still as he affected a mock bow. Their task finished, the group vanished into the night-time streets of Vanzograd.